1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane (Pompano Beach Hurricane)

At the No 18 spot in the World's Worst Hurricanes...

Also
known as the Pompano Beach Hurricane, the 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane was one
of the most intense and devastating hurricanes of the 1947 Atlantic hurricane
season.

While
the main area struck was, of course, Florida
and specifically Fort Lauderdale, the effects of
the 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane were felt from the Bahamas to Louisiana,
and into Mississippi.

Pompano Beach Hurricane

Hurricane Preparation for The 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane

Luckily,
the technology for tracking hurricanes and communications at the NationalHurricaneCenter had taken some steps forward
between 1932 and 1947, and hurricane track warnings were issued throughout the Florida east coast, from Titsuville to Miami. Northern commercial flights had to be
grounded in Jacksonville, and about one thousand five hundred National Guard
troops were on call and ready for mobilization if deemed necessary by Millard
Caldwell, then Governor of Florida.

Unfortunately,
few warnings, if any, had been issued throughout the Bahamas,
Louisiana or Mississippi. As such, hurricane preparedness
in those areas was predictably sparse, with residents boarding up with
hurricane shutters and hurricane windows only at the last second.

Hurricane Tracking for The 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane

The
1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane track began on September 2nd, when an
area of low air pressure resulting from a tropical wave was detected over French West Africa. Two days later, the system quickly
developed into a tropical storm, although the cyclone was not detected until
September 10th

On
the 5th, the storm quickly gained strength and became a hurricane,
moving westward at about 17 miles per hour. On the 7th, the storm
turned southwest, on the 9th, became a category 2 hurricane.

According
to the National Hurricane Center, the 1947 Fort Lauderdale
Hurricane reached maximum intensity of 160 mph winds just 95 miles east of Hope
Town on the Abaco Islands. The storm then
crossed through the northern portions of the Abac Islands, and onto the Gulf Stream, losing some strength.

The
1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane finally made landfall near Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, on September
17th at the strength of category 4, with peak gusts of 155 mph and
sustained 122 mph winds hitting Hillsboro Inlet Light near Pompano Beach. This reading would remain the
highest measured wind speed in the state of Florida until Hurricane Andrew some years
later.

On
the 18th, the hurricane’s sustained winds lost strength, diminishing
to 90 mph as the storm turned west-northwest at 15 mph. On the 19th,
the storm moved over the shore of Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana as a major
hurricane, weakening as it moved through New Orleans, and weakening further as
it moved through central Louisiana and Baton Rouge, becoming a tropical
depression over the north eastern parts of Texas, and finally, dissolving over
southern Missouri after one more pass through Oklahoma and Arkansas.

1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane Tracking

Hurricane Damage for The 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane

Damages
and deaths through the Bahamas
remain unrecorded, although it is known that Green Turtle Cay suffered flooding
with two feet of water, and many homes were damaged or destroyed in Grand Bahama, while all docks received some minor or
major degree of hurricane damages.

In
Florida, an
eleven foot storm surge was reported along the coast as the hurricane first
made landfall, and large stretches of State Highway A1A were washed out by the
waves. The Boca Raton Army Air Field (today known as the Boca Raton Airport)
suffered heavy hurricane damages, reportedly totalling three million dollars in
costs to repair.

Similar
storm surges were reported at Lake Okeechobee,
with a twenty foot surge being reported along the southern shores between the
cities of Clewiston and Moore Haven, almost overrunning the Herbert Hoover Dike
surrounding the lake.>

In
total, seventeen lives were lost in Florida,
and total hurricane damages to crops in the Fort Pierce area were estimated at four
million US dollars.

In
total, at least fifty one lives were lost as a direct result of the hurricane,
and more than one hundred ten million in damages were dealt. Adjusting for
inflation, the number would be closer to one billion dollars in the 2009
economy.

How The 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane Compares to Other Hurricanes

The
1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane is most easily compared to the Okeechobee
Hurricane of 1928, which struck roughly the same areas. In 1928, the Herbert
Hoover Dike actually collapsed, leading to much greater damages. This time, the
dike held, preventing the storm from doing as much hurricane damage as it
potentially could have.

Nonetheless,
the dike was strengthened some time after the Fort Lauderdale Hurricane in
order to make certain that it would hold through the next storm, as well.

The 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane Aftermath and Hurricane Recovery

The
1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane came very shortly after the end of World War II,
and just before the start of the Cold War, and had struck an area recently hit
by stronger hurricanes. As a result, the hurricane was largely forgotten in the
media and the public eye. Building codes and hurricane preparation had both
come a long way since the more destructive hurricanes of the 1920’s, and,
thankfully, the damage done was able to be contained.

We
include The 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane on this list as an example of the
fact that hurricane preparation has to take place on a broad scale. Hurricane
preparedness is not just boarding up with hurricane windows and hurricane
shutters, but tracking hurricanes on a worldwide level and issue hurricane news
to all residents of areas that are to be struck, as well as putting further
hurricane protection measures into place, such as planned evacuations and so
forth.

Coconut Palms and power poles topple before the intense winds of the 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane. September 17, 1947

(c) 2009 MICHAEL LACA - Tropmet.com

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